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The Guitar Hero series touched many people, and not just by strapping plastic guitars to them. As the series reached its absurd heights of success, it caused more game developers to enter into the service of note charts and extreme rocker-dude 3D models.

And now that Activision has stopped production on the Guitar Hero series and closed that business unit, we can look back at how it affected the people who made it -- the companies who either moved on or were chewed up and spat out by the Guitar Hero monster.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>7-studiosactivisionbeenoxbudcat-creationsdsfreestylegamesglu-mobileguitar-heroguitar-hero-ripharmonixmachineworks-northwestmicrosoftmobileneversoftnintendopcplaystationps3redoctaneunderground-developmentvicarious-visionswiixboxWed, 23 Feb 2011 15:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/23/report-redoctane-founders-staying-with-activision/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/23/report-redoctane-founders-staying-with-activision/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/23/report-redoctane-founders-staying-with-activision/#comments
Though music game pioneer RedOctane may have all but evaporated in the recent round of Activision layoffs, it seems that the driving force behind it, founders Kai and Charles Huang, will remain with the publisher, according to a report from Develop.

Though they're not fleeing, we've been given no hints as to what the Huangs will be doing now at Activision. Ever the optimists, we breathlessly (and no doubt foolishly) await a console follow-up to In the Groove.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisioncharles-huangguitar-heroin-the-groovekai-huanglayoffsredoctaneTue, 23 Feb 2010 15:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/12/activision-shuts-down-redoctane-underground-development/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/12/activision-shuts-down-redoctane-underground-development/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/12/activision-shuts-down-redoctane-underground-development/#commentsActivision wasn't done after yesterday's round of layoffs. Kotaku reports that RedOctane, the former music game peripheral company that originally published Guitar Hero before being purchased by Activision in 2006, has been shut down, with only the staff directly involved with instrument development remaining at Activision.

In addition, Underground Development (once called Z-Axis), who worked on Guitar Hero Van Halen and the Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX series, has been shut down completely, the site reports. An Activision rep confirmed the news, telling Joystiq that "As part of our overall strategy to release fewer SKUs for Guitar Hero in 2010 we are closing the Underground studios and relocating RedOctane to our Santa Monica headquarters under the leadership of David Haddad." We didn't realize there would be such an immediate and drastic downside to Activision's plan to tone down its music game releases.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionguitar-heroguitar-hero-van-halenlayoffsredoctaneunderground-developmentFri, 12 Feb 2010 19:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/08/mad-catz-pulled-out-of-guitar-hero-before-it-hit-big/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/08/mad-catz-pulled-out-of-guitar-hero-before-it-hit-big/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/08/mad-catz-pulled-out-of-guitar-hero-before-it-hit-big/#comments
Think of the original Guitar Hero, and two names pop immediately to mind: Harmonix and Red Octane. A third name that you might not be aware of: Mad Catz. Speaking to Kotaku, Mad Catz CEO Darren Richardson has revealed that peripheral maker was originally part of the Guitar Hero project. Mad Catz was responsible for the Xbox version, but eventually decided to pull out of the project thanks to a lawsuit filed by Konami -- which resulted in Guitar Hero being exclusive to PS2.

Furthermore, Mad Catz actually paid $300,000 to remove itself from the project, only to see it grow into the gigantic success it is today. Says Richardson, "Everyone else made hundreds of millions and we paid money to not be a part of it." Ouch.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>businessguitar-heroharmonixRedOctaneFri, 08 Jan 2010 18:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/27/review-dj-hero/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/27/review-dj-hero/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/27/review-dj-hero/#comments
DJ Hero could end up being the most divisive video game ever created. It flies proudly in the face of certain qualities I've come to expect of the casual-aimed rhythm genre -- qualities such as accessibility, recognizability and general ease of play. Activision's latest possesses none of these characteristics: It's got a sheer learning curve, it exclusively features music that has been mashed into an indistinguishable pulp, and it's easily the most difficult peripheral-based rhythm game I've ever played. (Dance Dance Revolution notwithstanding, of course. These legs just weren't made to flail.)

Everyone who plays DJ Hero will either hate it to its core, eject the disc and toss in a more familiar musical standby, or, if they possess a certain collection of odd inclinations, they'll fall wildly in love with it. I fall into the latter group, though the small assembly of friends I recently had try their hands at the game fell firmly into the former. Yes, those people aren't writing this review, but I thought it important to note their existence.

For my part, I found DJ Hero to be fresh by every conceivable definition of the word.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisiondj-herofreestylegamesMicrosoftmusic-gamesNintendoredoctanerhythm-gamesWiiXbox-360Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:27:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/03/harmonix-founders-detail-the-companys-failure-ridden-road-to-su/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/03/harmonix-founders-detail-the-companys-failure-ridden-road-to-su/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/03/harmonix-founders-detail-the-companys-failure-ridden-road-to-su/#comments
Believe it or not, things weren't always going so well for Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchise developers Harmonix. Starting out in 1995 as a "music tech" company, founders Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy took four years of "misstarts and product concepts that never made it anywhere" before they had any success. Talking to CNN Money, the two detail five years of strange, misguided, or ill-informed ideas that eventuallysomehow lead to The Beatles: Rock Band.

First up: "The Axe," something that Rigopulos describes as "a joystick music improvisation system." In so many words, you moved the joystick around and various sounds were produced. Unsurprisingly, only 300 were sold -- "a horrendous failure that led to a painful lesson," Rigopulos says. "You can't really build a business on an entertainment experience that only keeps people entertained for 15 minutes." Second, the two tried breaking into the (at the time) $10 billion Japanese karaoke market ... and met with resounding failure once again.

Luckily for us, lessons learned overseas came back with the duo and Harmonix became a game company. Rigopulos and Egozy quickly changed their company's focus from "music tech" to "gaming," creatingFrequency and Amplitude soon after. Though the games didn't directly lead to the financial success achieved later with Guitar Hero and Rock Band (GH didn't get off the ground until RedOctane approached Harmonix in the early oughts), both helped the now major developer to get a foot in the door.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alex-rigopulosamplitudecnncnn-moneyeran-egozyfrequencyguitar-heroharmonixmtvmtv-gamesredoctanerock-bandthe-beatlesthe-beatles-rock-bandThu, 03 Sep 2009 21:15:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/08/pick-up-metallica-smash-hits-guitar-hero-bundle-for-cheap/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/08/pick-up-metallica-smash-hits-guitar-hero-bundle-for-cheap/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/08/pick-up-metallica-smash-hits-guitar-hero-bundle-for-cheap/#comments
Yet another crazy music game fire sale from RedOctane today: For $49.99 on PS2, $59.99 on Wii or $69.99 on PS3 or 360, you can pick up a two-pack of Guitar Hero: Metallicaand Guitar Hero: Smash Hits.

As an added bonus, you'll also get a free Guitar Hero World Tour shirt. Now, you should by no means wear this in public, but if you need to work on your car or play the Super Sloppy Double Dare home game, it's a nice perk.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionguitar-heroguitar-hero-metallicaguitar-hero-smash-hitsguitar-hero-world-tourMicrosoftNintendored-octaneredoctaneWiiXbox-360Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:57:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/24/today-only-get-guitar-hero-smash-hits-with-a-drum-and-microphon/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/24/today-only-get-guitar-hero-smash-hits-with-a-drum-and-microphon/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/24/today-only-get-guitar-hero-smash-hits-with-a-drum-and-microphon/#commentsIf you already have a Guitar Hero guitar sitting around (at this point, it's statistically likely), RedOctane is offering an opportunity to finish your band kit and get a new(ish) game for a great price. The company's website is selling a pack containing a copy of Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, along with a drum set and a microphone for $99.99, with free shipping. That's the exact same price the company is charging for just a drum set!

This package is, inexplicably, only available for Xbox 360 and Wii, and is only available today, so you don't have too much time to think about how weird it is to sell a Guitar Hero bundle with everything but the title instrument.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisiondrumsguitar-heroguitar-hero-smash-hitsMicrosoftNintendoredoctaneWiiXbox-360Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:15:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/23/activision-appoints-former-yahoo-coo-to-head-of-guitar-hero-unit/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/23/activision-appoints-former-yahoo-coo-to-head-of-guitar-hero-unit/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/23/activision-appoints-former-yahoo-coo-to-head-of-guitar-hero-unit/#commentsAccording to a press release sent out by Activision this morning, Dan Rosensweig, former chief operating officer for Yahoo! and Ziff-Davis executive, is now the President of Guitar Hero. This means that Guitar Hero is now a sovereign nation, and we can expect a mass defection of teenagers. Oh, wait, the press release says that he's the President and CEO of Activision's Guitar Hero business unit.

Rosensweig is now in charge of RedOctane, the former accessories maker and game rental service that is now the division of Activision producing the Guitar Hero games -- as well as, the press release notes, the "soon to be released DJ Hero(TM)." Kai Huang, RedOctane's founder, will "continue working at RedOctane reporting to Mr. Rosensweig." Ouch.

You wanna be privy to some exclusive, top secret information? Though it may sound like our usual brand of preposterous, blogger rabble rousing, we have reason to believe that Activision is working on ... another Guitar Hero game. It's true! Sources say that this next Guitar Hero will come out after the next Guitar Hero comes out.

...

Alright, so we have a few more details beyond that evergreen speculation. Let's switch to third-person! Joystiq has been informed that Activision's next artist-oriented Guitar Hero release will be based around Van Halen. According to Joystiq's source, the game is set to arrive sometime after Guitar Hero: Metallica and will include several songs hailin' from the Californian rock band's catalogue, including "Jump," "Panama" and "Hot for Teacher." You can also expect a smattering of songs from other bands, like Judas Priest's "Pain Killer," Tenacious D's "Master Exploder" and Weezer's "Dope Nose."

Activision was unable to lend the leaked information any more credence, saying, "The RedOctane/Guitar Hero team is currently focused on the upcoming release of Guitar Hero Metallica, as well as the recently announced titles Guitar Hero Greatest Hits and Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits, and does not comment on speculation or rumor." We didn't bother asking if Creedence is in it.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionguitar-heroguitar-hero-van-halenredoctanerumorvan-halenFri, 06 Mar 2009 15:54:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/06/the-modern-hits-in-guitar-hero-on-tour-modern-hits/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/06/the-modern-hits-in-guitar-hero-on-tour-modern-hits/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/06/the-modern-hits-in-guitar-hero-on-tour-modern-hits/#commentsIn an interview with IGN, Vicarious Visions confirmed that the new DS Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hitswill not be compatible with the DSi. "Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits was developed prior to the Nintendo DSi release and supports the more than 27 million DS Units that have already been sold in North America," Vicarious's David Nathanielsz said. "The game requires a GBA slot - either on the original Nintendo DS or the Nintendo DSLite - to play." Surprise! Of course, the team is looking into DSi compatibility and is "very excited about the possibilities open to us in the future."

In less obvious news, IGN posted the "preliminary" tracklist for the third DS Guitar Hero, which now features a nonlinear "fan request" based progression. 12 of the game's 25+ tracks were revealed, in addition to Sum 41's "Still Waiting," Franz Ferdinand's "The Fallen," and Finger Eleven's "Paralyzer," revealed by the ESRB.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionguitar-heroguitar-hero-modern-hitsmusicredoctanevicarious-visionsFri, 06 Mar 2009 10:45:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/11/17/dlc-limitations-mean-no-hendrix-for-guitar-hero-world-tour/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/11/17/dlc-limitations-mean-no-hendrix-for-guitar-hero-world-tour/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/11/17/dlc-limitations-mean-no-hendrix-for-guitar-hero-world-tour/#commentsActivision made a statement over the weekend about the nature of their Guitar Hero: World Tour "track pack" downloads and what it means for the Wii version. Pressure from two outside parties has constrained the DLC catalog, unfortunately. Some labels or artists will only give Activision the rights to distribute track packs, with individual sale of the contained songs prohibited. And for some reason, according to the statement, "the Wii's infrastructure only allows us the ability to release single songs as DLC."

That means that some artists will have to be excluded from the Wii's DLC offerings entirely. Like, for example, Jimi Hendrix. Because of these restrictions, none of the Jimi Hendrix tracks from the PS3/Xbox 360 set will be available. So it won't just be the limits of your ability that keep you from playing Hendrix songs.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisiondlcguitar-heroguitar-hero-world-tourmusicredoctaneMon, 17 Nov 2008 12:45:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/29/activision-to-give-sensitivity-training-to-guitar-hero-world-to/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/29/activision-to-give-sensitivity-training-to-guitar-hero-world-to/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/29/activision-to-give-sensitivity-training-to-guitar-hero-world-to/#comments
Some Guitar Hero: World Tour players are reporting sensitivity issues with the drums -- basically, that they have to pound the hell out of them to register a hit. If you're tired of having to go all Keith Moon all the time, Activision and Neversoft have a solution for you, and it's kind of an unexpected one: drum sensitivity tuning software.

Activision has released Windows-based tuning software which will allow players to connect their drum kits to their PCs and manually alter the sensitivity of each input. If that doesn't help, provided your overworked (but totally buff) arms can deal with the searing pain of motion long enough to lift the phone, you can report your sensitivity issues to Activision online or by phone at (310)255-2050.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisiondrumsguitar-heroguitar-hero-world-tourmusicneversoftredoctaneWed, 29 Oct 2008 17:17:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/23/amoeba-music-in-guitar-hero-world-tour-and-vice-versa/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/23/amoeba-music-in-guitar-hero-world-tour-and-vice-versa/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/23/amoeba-music-in-guitar-hero-world-tour-and-vice-versa/#comments
Activision has made a deal with Amoeba Music, an independent California music store chain, that instantly imbues Guitar Hero: World Tour with indie cred that would otherwise be hard for a massively marketed corporate product to come by. Of course, this is part of that massive marketing effort, so maybe it could be seen more as Amoeba selling out than Guitar Hero gaining indie cred. In either case, it seems pretty cool to us: an Amoeba location will serve as an in-game venue, allowing players to pretend they're rocking out in a record store.

The promotion extends into the real world as well: if you preorder the game from one of the real Amoeba Music stores, you will receive a free t-shirt when you go in. It's not a free guitar, but it's also not nothing.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionamoeba-musicguitar-hero-world-tourmusicredoctanevicarious-visionsTue, 23 Sep 2008 13:35:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/activision-considering-subscriptions-for-guitar-hero-dlc/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/activision-considering-subscriptions-for-guitar-hero-dlc/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/17/activision-considering-subscriptions-for-guitar-hero-dlc/#comments
Activision is not satisfied with the current methods of making money from Guitar Hero, which are sadly limited to selling the game to people and then selling extra songs. According to a statement made by Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith at the Activision Blizzard Analysts' Day event, the company is looking to branch out into new ways of convincing people to pay more to play something they've already bought.Specifically, a subscription model, separate from the early rumor of a subscription-based online play scheme.

"Looking even further out," Griffith said, "we're exploring new models, like an annual pass subscription where players can subscribe and get a certain number of songs downloadable each month." Now, we make fun of the greed that motivates the annual release schedule, newinstruments, piles of DLC, and pretty much everything else about Guitar Hero, but this is actually a cool idea. Like a Netflix for Guitar Hero songs.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionguitar-heromusicredoctanerhythmsubscriptionWed, 17 Sep 2008 10:50:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/02/new-smashing-pumpkins-single-to-debut-in-guitar-hero-world-tour/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/02/new-smashing-pumpkins-single-to-debut-in-guitar-hero-world-tour/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/02/new-smashing-pumpkins-single-to-debut-in-guitar-hero-world-tour/#commentsActiblizzion has announced that '90s fixture the Smashing Pumpkins have recorded a new song, "G.L.O.W." specifically for release as a Guitar Hero: World Tour download, marking the first time a new song has debuted in a music game under those specific circumstances. The track, which will be included on an album later, will be released as part of a three-song DLC pack, along with "1979" and "The Everlasting Gaze." The first in-concert performance of the new song is above, thanks to some dude who took a camera to a Pumpkins show!

The deal isn't just for DLC, however: Billy Corgan will appear in-game -- and as a playable character in career mode, even -- and the wonderful "Today" will be included on the disc. We hope it introduces the Pumpkins to some of the youngsters who may be surprised to learn that a long time ago, guitars had strings on them and could be used to play any song.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionguitar-heroguitar-hero-world-tourmusicredoctanesmashing-pumpkinsvicarious-visionsTue, 02 Sep 2008 15:24:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/25/gc-2008-activision-demonstrates-music-creation-in-guitar-hero-world-tour/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/25/gc-2008-activision-demonstrates-music-creation-in-guitar-hero-world-tour/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/25/gc-2008-activision-demonstrates-music-creation-in-guitar-hero-world-tour/#commentsTo say that Guitar Hero: World Tour has a lot of content is now an understatement. The game is so ridiculously full of goodies, fans are likely going to explogasm when they watch the video above. It goes into incredible detail, showing off the music creation fun you can have in Activision's latest installment in its popular franchise. Whether you're mixing drum loops for your tracks or turning your guitar into a keyboard (could this confirm a keyboard peripheral is inbound?), it looks like you won't be bored with Guitar Hero: World Tour anytime soon after its release.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisiongdc-08gdc08guitar-heroguitar-hero-world-tourleipzig-08musicred-octaneredoctanerhythmworld-tourMon, 25 Aug 2008 09:57:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/07/guitar-hero-iii-legendary-low-price/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/07/guitar-hero-iii-legendary-low-price/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/07/guitar-hero-iii-legendary-low-price/#commentsEven if you're holding out for Guitar Hero: World Tour, or if you just have Guitar Hero: Aerosmith for some reason, 60 bucks for a copy of Guitar Hero III and a guitar is a nice deal. The Les Paul alone costs $60 from RedOctane's website, and it doesn't come with "Paint it Black."

The deal gets even more awesomer when combined with the current "buy one, get 20% off" Wii game deal. We aren't Toys R Us policy experts, and we don't want to guarantee that the store won't give you some kind of trouble if you try to double-dip deals, but you can probably get a cheap Guitar Hero and a second cheap game.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionguitar-heroguitar-hero-iiimusicredoctaneThu, 07 Aug 2008 17:23:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/01/wii-warm-up-guitar-super-hero/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/01/wii-warm-up-guitar-super-hero/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/01/wii-warm-up-guitar-super-hero/#commentsLogitech and Activision announced that "premium" Guitar Hero: World Tourinstruments were on the way yesterday. We have yet to see or hear any real details about the items, so we don't know exactly in which ways or to what degree they'll be enhanced versus their standard RedOctane counterparts.

In the meantime, we'd like to ask what kind of "premium" features you would want out of guitar and drum controllers? More accurate size? Higher-quality materials? Real wood guitars? Mother-of-pearl dragon inlays? Also, how "premium" do you want these to go? How much are you willing to pay for a high-end guitar controller?

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionguitar-heroguitar-hero-world-tourmusicredoctaneFri, 01 Aug 2008 08:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/31/logitech-and-activision-developing-premium-instruments-for-guita/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/31/logitech-and-activision-developing-premium-instruments-for-guita/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/31/logitech-and-activision-developing-premium-instruments-for-guita/#comments Activision and Logitech have announced a partnership through which Logitech will create "premium" instrument controllers for Guitar Hero: World Tour. It's not exactly clear from the press release, but we believe this means that Logitech will sell nicer, more expensive versions of the stock Guitar Hero instruments, not that they're producing the ones that come with the game. The new instruments will be fully compatible with World Tour, which basically means that the drums will have the appropriate number of pads and the guitar will have an insane touch pad on the neck.

It's not too much of a surprise, after Rock Band got its set of expensive drums, for Guitar Hero to follow suit with "premium" instruments. For extra instruments, this may not turn out to be a bad thing, since Logitech generally makes high quality peripherals. It seems like an uncomfortable position for RedOctane. They started out making music-game peripherals, including those for Guitar Hero, and moved into publishing. Now Activision owns them and publishes Guitar Hero, and Logitech is making instruments.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionguitar-heroguitar-hero-world-tourmusicredoctaneThu, 31 Jul 2008 14:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/23/the-beatles-revival-in-progress/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/23/the-beatles-revival-in-progress/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/23/the-beatles-revival-in-progress/#comments
The biggest and most famous band there ever was -- The Beatles. They have been notably absent in every release from the biggest rhythm games in the world -- Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Hopefully the creators have gotten all that metal nonsense out of their system, because The Beatles might just be on the way to a plastic guitar near you.

People have talked about talking about it, but according to the Financial Times, actual representatives for The Beatles have been sitting down with Activision and MTV Games to make some progress. It's entirely possible that the Fab Four might make it to both games, but we'll be getting whichever one features this nifty number. Automatic screamage factor of twelve.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionguitar-heroguitar-hero-world-tourharmonixmtv-gamesmusicredoctanerhythmrock-bandthe-beatlesMon, 23 Jun 2008 18:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/21/guitar-hero-world-tour-can-save-dlc-to-an-sd-card/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/21/guitar-hero-world-tour-can-save-dlc-to-an-sd-card/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/21/guitar-hero-world-tour-can-save-dlc-to-an-sd-card/#commentsVicarious Visions' Karthik Bala has once again confirmed paid downloadable content in the Wii version of Guitar Hero World Tour, though current Wii guitar games have left us doubtful of any feature. Furthermore, you'll be able to save your songs to a "Rock Archive" on an SD card, and even play songs from the card without copying them over first. But ... but isn't that completelyimpossible?

Bala also confirmed that despite the new guitar's wacky gimmickry, your old Guitar Hero III (or Guitar Hero: Aerosmith) guitar will work just fine, and that "any USB microphone should work." With all these features, Vicarious Visions is going to have to be really creative if they want to disappoint us.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionguitar-heroguitar-hero-world-tourmusicredoctanerhythmsd-cardvicarious-visionsSat, 21 Jun 2008 12:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/20/joystiq-rocks-out-with-guitar-hero-world-tour/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/20/joystiq-rocks-out-with-guitar-hero-world-tour/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/20/joystiq-rocks-out-with-guitar-hero-world-tour/#comments
Joystiq recently got to check out everyone's new favorite Wii game, Guitar Hero: World Tour. While they didn't actually get to play the game (they were forced to watch RedOctane jam, for some reason), they did get some juicy details for those of you looking for more on the game. So, head on over and check out their write-up.

Activision invited us out to the House of Blues last week, which was a fitting place to give us a first look at Guitar Hero: World Tour in action. Though we didn't get to play it, we did watch the folks from RedOctane take a spin through all the new features. Suffice it to say, this isn't simply Guitar Hero: Rock Band ... which is what we thought it might turn out to be. Read on after the break to find out why you'll soon have a closet filled with enough peripherals to make your own one-man band.

Here's some news that's sure to strike a sour chord with the legions of Guitar Hero III owners worldwide. We've confirmed with Activision that Guitar Hero: Aerosmithwill not allow users to access content for GH3.

It will also be impossible for those who've purchased only Guitar Hero: Aerosmith to access and download tracks currently available for GH3. For those with both games: prepare for disc-swapping. The carry-over of DLC into Guitar Hero: Aerosmith seemed like a real no-brainer; hopefully Neversoft will take Guitar Hero fans' previous purchases into account while nailing down Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero: Metallica's feature sets.

That's probably because, for all intents and purposes, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is GH3 with polygonal likenesses of the legendary rockers, a story mode that follows their rise to fame, lots of their songs, and a few tracks from other bands to sweeten the deal.

Earlier today, we pointed you in the direction of Joystiq's hands-on impressions of Guitar Hero: On Tour, itself on tour as various websites tried the game out for themselves.

One of those sites was ShackNews, which also got to speak to Vicarious Visions CEO Karthik Bala. And we had only just started reading when one of Bala's opening statements got our blood boiling: apparently, Guitar Hero: On Tour was developed to "see if it was even possible to do a really good music rhythm game on a handheld."

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionebaelite-beat-agentsguitar-herokarthik-balamusicon-tourouendanredoctanerhythmtaiko-drum-mastervicarious-visionsFri, 30 May 2008 20:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/26/guitar-hero-world-tour-drums-compatible-with-drummers/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/26/guitar-hero-world-tour-drums-compatible-with-drummers/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/26/guitar-hero-world-tour-drums-compatible-with-drummers/#commentsActivision invited some celebrity drummers to be seen playing test the Guitar Hero World Tour drum kit, including The Police's Stewart Copeland, Blink 182's Travis Barker, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith (who looks exactly like Will Ferrell). The three talk about the more realistic layout of the new drum controller, and, of course, how awesome drumming is. Surprise! They love Guitar Hero, and they love the new drum kit. Anything to lure kids into drumming before they know how their future bandmates will regard them!

The video is suspiciously light on footage of the three playing the controller, which leads us to think that maybe they all totally busted it. Barker, who can be seen performing motion capture for the game, mentions that on the expert level the drum charts are virtually identical to the real drum sequences in the original songs, which is actually very cool!

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisiondrumsguitar-heroguitar-hero-world-tourmusicredoctaneMon, 26 May 2008 12:45:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/26/fill-your-tour-bus-with-redoctanes-guitar-hero-on-tour-stuff/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/26/fill-your-tour-bus-with-redoctanes-guitar-hero-on-tour-stuff/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/26/fill-your-tour-bus-with-redoctanes-guitar-hero-on-tour-stuff/#comments
When they started taking preorders for Guitar Hero: On Tour, RedOctane revealed a second package containing not just the game and controller, but also a case decorated with a flame-enhanced version of the game's logo. That case is now available for preorder independent of the game, at a $16.99 price point. More choice is always better, but this seems like a strange option. Why not buy it and the game together and save yourself seven dollars?

You can then put that money into a five-pack of official pick styli! Alternately, if you aren't concerned with savings and would rather eschew the flames case in favor of something classier, you can get an identical case with an embossed black Guitar Hero logo. It's the more subdued way to carry your tiny fake guitar.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>accessoriesactivisioncaseguitar-heroguitar-hero-on-tourpickredoctanestylusMon, 26 May 2008 10:15:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/22/guitar-hero-world-tour-has-dlc-or-it-doesnt/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/22/guitar-hero-world-tour-has-dlc-or-it-doesnt/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/22/guitar-hero-world-tour-has-dlc-or-it-doesnt/#comments
Even an official press release can't convince us that the Wii version of Guitar Hero World Tour will support downloadable content -- mostly because the press releases can't keep their stories straight. We've seen two versions of the press release: the first, on Activision's own site, claims that World Tour is the "First Game Ever in the Guitar Hero Franchise to Allow In-Game Downloadable Content on Wii," while the second, found on GamesIndustry.biz, is exactly the same minus the mention of DLC. Was the line excised mid-release? Did it get added later? Will it be in the game? We have no idea. What we do know is that the only reason Activision can tout World Tour's "first-ever Wii Guitar Hero DLC" is because they never followed through on their promise to put it in Guitar Hero III.

We've got new screens in our gallery which obviously aren't from the Wii version of the game, but which show off new features like character creation, guitar customization, and the awesome music-recording function that we have no idea if we'll get. Maybe the Wii drum kit will make extra noise when you hit it.

Well, not as realistic as, you know, actual drums, but apparently the next Guitar Hero will be setting some sort of benchmark in the battle of the fake bands. Judging by the above debut trailer for "Guitar Hero World Tour," the new peripherals are convincing enough to lure hundreds of people into a poorly lit grotto and subject them to a cacophony of plastic instrument flailing. It's out this Fall.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ActivisionGHIVGuitar-HeroGuitar-Hero-IVGuitar-Hero-World-TourMusicNeversoftPS2PS3RedOctaneWiiXbox-360Wed, 21 May 2008 12:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/13/wacky-pick-stylus-reborn-for-guitar-hero-on-tour/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/13/wacky-pick-stylus-reborn-for-guitar-hero-on-tour/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/13/wacky-pick-stylus-reborn-for-guitar-hero-on-tour/#commentsWe had a pretty good idea of what BD&A's Guitar Hero stylus accessory would look like, but we figured there was always the possibility of a surprise until we could see a picture of the thing. A picture has just been added to the Gamestop listing, and there is no surprise to be found.

The DS Lite Guitar Hero Stylus is exactly the same idea as the Jammin' Guitar Pick stylus that Naki released to go with Jam Sessions. It's a stylus attached to a guitar pick. You hold the pick and use the stylus end on the screen, which sounds, at least, a little more guitar-like than just playing the DS with a little stick.

The major differences between the two products? The Guitar Hero set has the Guitar Hero logo on the picks, and doesn't come with as many.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionbdaguitarguitar-heromusicon-tourpickredoctanevicarious-visionsTue, 13 May 2008 11:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/07/analyst-guitar-hero-on-tour-will-play-to-huge-crowds/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/07/analyst-guitar-hero-on-tour-will-play-to-huge-crowds/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/07/analyst-guitar-hero-on-tour-will-play-to-huge-crowds/#comments
While the media reactions to Guitar Hero: On Tour seem to range from dismissive to skeptical to vaguely intrigued, analyst Todd Greenwald believes that the game will arrive at retail as less of an oddity and more of ... a Guitar Hero game. Which means big-time sales.

"We think this title, never having been released on any handheld platform, has the potential to sell several million units at launch, at a $49.99 price point." (Note about the novelty of the release: there isGuitar Hero III Mobile, but that doesn't count.)

He also said that large retailers like Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart will feature the handheld title prominently in their stores, contributing to the sales. That makes the most sense to us: a Guitar Hero game in a smaller box must be a very attractive item for retailers.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionguitar-heroguitar-hero-on-tourredoctanevicarious-visionsWed, 07 May 2008 09:45:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/05/free-headphones-with-guitar-hero-on-tour-at-gamestop/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/05/free-headphones-with-guitar-hero-on-tour-at-gamestop/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/05/free-headphones-with-guitar-hero-on-tour-at-gamestop/#commentsHeadphones are an absolute must for handheld music games, unless you're a) alone or b) a jerk. You're almost required to have the sound on, unlike other portable games, and it would be quite rude to subject the other bus passengers (or other neighbors) to your racket. Guitar Hero: On Tour also puts your neighbors in danger of a serious jostling should your fake solos get too energetic, but there's not really an accessory that could help with that, aside from elbow pads.

GameStop has taken the extremely sensible step of bundling a pair of On Tour-branded headphones with copies of the game. If you're going to be buying the thing anyway, might as well get extra free stuff with it!

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisiongamestopguitar-heroguitar-hero-on-tourheadphonesredoctanevicarious-visionsMon, 05 May 2008 19:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/16/on-tour-devs-on-the-challenges-of-cramming-guitar-hero-into-the/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/16/on-tour-devs-on-the-challenges-of-cramming-guitar-hero-into-the/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/16/on-tour-devs-on-the-challenges-of-cramming-guitar-hero-into-the/#commentsVicarious Visions, developer of Guitar Hero: On Tour, talked to MTV Multiplayer's Steven Totilo about the process of creating, Frankenstein-style, the bizarre DS version of a game that usually relies on a giant peripheral. They broke their discussion of its development into a list of six challenges, and then addressed each challenge specifically.

The most obvious challenge: the DS isn't shaped like a guitar, and it's doubtful that any useful peripheral could make it be. According to Vicarious Visions' Karthik Bala, the company never considered adding a full Guitar Hero fretboard, due to a desire to remain compact.

Another challenge, and one that we find particularly interesting, was convincing Nintendo to allow Vicarious Visions to add buttons to the DS. Rather than providing a different interface for the existing buttons (like other Guitar Hero controllers), the Guitar Grip actually adds new buttons to the system that aren't mapped to anything else. And Nintendo had to get involved to make sure the peripheral was up to their standards.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionguitar-gripguitar-heroguitar-hero-on-tourredoctanevicarious-visionsWed, 16 Apr 2008 11:15:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/11/guitar-hero-ds-accessories-on-the-way/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/11/guitar-hero-ds-accessories-on-the-way/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/11/guitar-hero-ds-accessories-on-the-way/#commentsSomeone is willing to gamble a significant amount of money on the idea of a shrunk-down Guitar Hero on the DS. BD&A, who make officially-licensed Nintendo hardware cases and accessories, will produce accessories for Guitar Hero: On Tour, meaning that they think the product is non-wacky enough (or lovably wacky enough) to sell -- and sell other stuff.

Two listings at Gamestop hint pretty strongly at their initial products: a $10 DS Lite Guitar Hero Stylus and a $20 DS Lite Guitar Hero Ruby Red Kit, which comprises "a glitter case, 2 system wraps, and a cleaning cloth." We assume they mean a DS Lite/Guitar Grip case that is glittery, and not a case for your glitter. They're saving that for Guitar Hero: Rip Taylor Edition.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionbdacaseguitar-heroguitar-hero-on-touron-tourredoctanestylusvicarious-visionsFri, 11 Apr 2008 12:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/08/a-short-term-deal-on-a-short-term-guitar-hero-on-tour-order/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/08/a-short-term-deal-on-a-short-term-guitar-hero-on-tour-order/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/08/a-short-term-deal-on-a-short-term-guitar-hero-on-tour-order/#commentsIf, in the great Guitar Hero: On Tourdebate, you fall on the side of "looks pretty good, I might get it, maybe," then you may be interested in this timed deal from Gamestop. Their "stopwatch deal" for today offers free overnight shipping on orders for the game (with included Guitar Grip peripheral, of course). You could be rocking out basically the same day it shows up in stores (June 23rd), without having to actually enter a Gamestop.

You only have until noon EST tomorrow to get on this deal, so if you're still on the fence about the ridiculous peripheral, now's the time to start soul-searching.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisiondebateguitar-heromusicon-tourpollredoctaneMon, 07 Apr 2008 12:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/31/guitar-hero-on-tour-controller-harmonious-with-ds-phats/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/31/guitar-hero-on-tour-controller-harmonious-with-ds-phats/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/31/guitar-hero-on-tour-controller-harmonious-with-ds-phats/#comments
Whenever a new DS peripheral is announced, there's a brief moment of terror for DS Phat stalwarts, as they consider the possibility of being forced into an upgrade out of desire to play Arkanoid (for example -- but that one actually does work with Phats). Thankfully, Activision and RedOctane have not forgotten that some people like big DSes and cannot lie. The Guitar Grip made for Guitar Hero: On Tour will work with both flavors of DS, according to RedOctane's preorder page.

More interesting news related to, uh, your decision about whether or not to buy this: RedOctane is bundling Guitar Hero logo keychains with preordered copies of On Tour, and also selling a $60 bundle with a case made to hold the DS and Guitar Grip.

Each week Jeff Engel and Geoff Brooks contribute Counting Rupees, a column on the business behind gaming:

When Guitar Hero 3 launched last year it was an immediate success, selling out at a fairly quick pace throughout the holiday season. Following just behind it was Rock Band, selling very well, but not nearly as quickly as Guitar Hero. So far, all versions of Guitar Hero III have sold about 9.1M copies, versus just roughly 1.5M for Rock Band. Of course, part of the discrepancy lies in the fact that Rock Band launched on two platforms while Guitar Hero 3 launched on four, but that is about to be remedied with Harmonix's recent announcement of Rock Band for Wii. While Rock Band was a more ambitious game and representative of an evolution of the music game, it did seem like Activision may have made the right choice in buying the Guitar Hero publisher (and thus the Guitar Hero brand), but not the developer. With so much brand awareness already built into Guitar Hero, was there any way that Harmonix could possibly top the original creation that it no longer owned the rights to?